Some interesting questions have arisen since the prevalence of wearing masks.

Are there negative psychological effects from hiding our mouths in social interactions?

Do we smile less when we don’t see others smiling?

Are we communicating more with our eyes since we see less of the face?

No matter how you may feel about wearing masks, it is a good bet they are going to be around for a long time.

If you are one who wears a mask every day, please speak louder and more distinctly.

If you are a person who smiles a lot and likes to make other people smile, consider wearing a humorous mask.

Entrepreneurs are getting very creative.

You can get a face mask imprinted with a photograph of your smiling mouth.

You can now wear a mask with your dog’s snout on it.

For those who love to dress up in costumes, you can start a collection of celebrity mouths.

The possibilities are endless.

If you don’t have a mask on, please respect those who do by being careful to stay socially distanced from them.

But don’t harass someone who is not wearing a mask.

If someone’s mask matches their outfit or is unique, go ahead and compliment them.

But I do believe we are being deprived of one of God’s gifts by not seeing each other’s smiles.

I was visiting a dying woman in a hospice house a few weeks ago.

She has cancer and had just lost all her hearing that morning and was somewhat confused.

I then realized that it was far more important for her to see me smiling than for either of us to be thinking about covid and social distancing.

I pulled my mask down and gave her a big smile.

She smiled back.

Keep everything in perspective.

Next week: The strength of doing nothing.

Dan Williams is the senior adult pastor at Lexington Baptist Church.